Chapter 42: It seems you’re quite confident!

Chapter 42: It seems you're quite confident!

Life is indeed like a play, with acting skills constantly being put to the test.

Tang Shuyi sat leisurely in the spacious loop chair, watching Madam Wu and Wu Jingyun outdo each other in acting. Honestly, with their acting skills, if they were to join the modern variety show "The Birth of a Drama Queen", they would surely win first and second place.

If one really had to rank their acting skills, Tang Shuyi felt Wu Jingyun had the upper hand. Look at that bewildered, helpless, and aggrieved look in her eyes, just right in measure — any more would be overacting, any less would lack sincerity.

By comparison, Madam Wu's performance seemed a bit too forced, crying too sorrowfully, with a somewhat exaggerated expression. But still, it was very good.

Just then, as the embracing mother and daughter parted, Wu Jingyun walked incredulously close to Tang Shuyi and said sorrowfully, "Madam Marquess, is what my mother said true?"

Tang Shuyi observed her with an enigmatic smile, remaining silent.

"I am the judge here; I'm not interested in playing along with your act."

Wu Jingyun felt unsettled by her gaze, though she didn’t let it show. Without a response, she continued, "Madam Marquess, how could the Heir... how could he do such a thing?"

"What have I done?"

A crisp voice interrupted, silencing the entire courtyard instantly. The expressions on everyone's faces were a kaleidoscope of emotions.

Tang Shuyi was the picture of calm; she knew the moment she walked in that the man inside wasn't Xiao Yuchen.

Wu Jingyun's mouth hung open slightly, her large eyes wide with surprise. Tang Shuyi thought her performance was lacking. She should have shown a mix of relief and joy along with her surprise. Instead, she only conveyed shock, omitting any sense of reassurance or happiness.

Points deducted!

Madam Wu’s performance was excellent, genuinely heartfelt. Upon hearing Xiao Yuchen’s voice, she turned in disbelief. When she saw him in person, she let out a shrill scream and her legs gave way. Had the maidservants not supported her, she would have surely collapsed.

She then pushed through the maids, stormed into the room, and saw on the modestly sized bed, a man and woman, both bare, entwined and panting, clearly having just engaged in vigorous activity.

The woman on the bed was naturally her daughter, Wu Jingshu, but the man wasn't the one she had hoped for. Instead, it was a bald monk, and upon closer inspection, she realized it was Chang Jing, the monk who had received them earlier.

"Ah..." Madam Wu let out another piercing scream, "What’s going on? What is this?"

Her screams finally roused the man and woman on the bed, who were just coming out of the effects of the drug. Realizing their situation, they too began to scream…

Tang Shuyi paid no heed to the chaos in the room. She addressed Wu Jingyun, "Miss Wu, I believe we need to have a discussion."

Saying so, she rose and left. Wu Jingyun was in turmoil, clueless about what Tang Shuyi wanted to discuss, but instinctively wanting to flee. Yet before she could move, she found herself encircled by Tang Shuyi’s maid and Xiao Yuchen’s attendants, leaving her with no escape.

She paused briefly, then took a deep breath, chiding herself for her earlier panic. The day's events had gone almost flawlessly; the Madam Marquess surely had no evidence.

Comforted by this thought, she walked "casually" towards Tang Shuyi’s room. Reaching the doorway, she took another deep breath before stepping inside.

As soon as she entered, the door shut behind her. The Marquess sat in a chair in the center of the room, with Xiao Yuchen beside her. Neither wore any expression, yet their presence exuded the aura of a solemn tribunal.

She stood motionless, and as Tang Shuyi and Xiao Yuchen remained silent, the room was engulfed in quietude, unsettling Wu Jingyun even further.

After a moment, Tang Shuyi spoke up, her voice calm yet commanding, "Miss Wu, I have told you before that some matters could be settled amicably through discussion. Yet you choose to escalate them so dramatically. What good does this do you?"

Wu Jingyun looked at Tang Shuyi with a hint of surprise. Since their last meeting, she had felt that the Marquise seemed different than before, and now that feeling intensified. The Marquise of the previous life didn’t possess such an aura and wouldn't have been so confrontational upon speaking.

She even began to doubt if this person was truly the Marquise, but how could that be? If not the Marquise, then who?

Her surprise lingered as she observed Tang Shuyi for a while, yet her face betrayed no flaw. Withdrawing her gaze, she responded, "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Do you really not know?" Tang Shuyi scoffed, then continued, "Miss Wu, I’ll give you another chance. Let's talk frankly and openly."

Wu Jingyun pressed her lips tightly, confident that her actions today had no loopholes, believing the Marquise had no evidence. Otherwise, she would not be trying to bluff but would present the evidence outright.

"Marquise, I truly don’t know what you’re talking about," she insisted.

"You seem very confident," Tang Shuyi observed, then raised her voice towards the closed door, "Bring them in."

No sooner had she spoken than the door opened, and two figures, bound tightly, stumbled in. They were her personal maids, Xing’er and Tao’er.

At that moment, Cuiyun, Cuizhu, Changming, and Changfeng also entered, paying their respects to Tang Shuyi and Xiao Yuchen before taking their places to the side. Tao’er and Xing’er knelt on the floor, crying to Wu Jingyun, "Miss, miss, please save us!"

"Marquise, what is this about?" Despite her inner turmoil, Wu Jingyun's face showed anger, "Even with the power of the Marquis's residence, you shouldn’t arbitrarily torture my maids."

Tang Shuyi ignored her, instead addressing the kneeling Tao’er and Xing’er, "What did you two do after going to Chongguang Temple today? Speak!"

Her voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable authority, and coupled with her commanding presence, Tao’er and Xing’er were shaking in fear.

"Marquise, you have no right to interrogate my maids, do you?"

"Then shall we have your father, Minister Wu, conduct the interrogation?"

………

The room fell into a silence so deep, it was almost suffocating. Wu Jingyun could even hear the chattering of her teeth as her confidence waned. She was certain that no one could find a flaw in what she did today, but she had not anticipated the Marquise's move to cut the ground from under her feet.

Would she dare to let her father interrogate the maids?

No, she wouldn't dare. If her father found out what she had done today, it wouldn't just be a severe punishment; her life, as she knew it, would effectively be over.

"Will you speak, or not?" Tang Shuyi pressed again.

Wu Jingyun stood trembling and silent, so Tang Shuyi turned to the maids, "You tell me."

The two maids looked at their young mistress, who closed her eyes in resignation, and then they shakily recounted the day’s events.